Recent changes
Wednesday November 04 2026
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The admin styling rules test Updated Markdown page
What tests/tests/design/AdminStylingRulesTest.php checks in every administration design (no inline CSS, tokens only, dark values, focus outlines, stacking layers, identical component copies), how to run it, and how to…
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admin4 components Updated Markdown page
The shared .a4-* component classes of the administration (page scope, cards, buttons, toolbar, filter bar, forms, tables, tags and badges, notices, folding, steps, icons, utilities), with a small example, and why to use…
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admin4 module stylesheets Updated Markdown page
Where CSS goes when the shared components are not enough: the kernel's module stylesheets (setup, content, people, structure, workflow, help) loaded through AdminComponentCSSFileList, and an extension's own admin…
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admin4 tokens Updated Markdown page
The --a4-* design tokens of the administration (accent, neutrals, states, charts, depth, radius, spacing, controls, layout, type, stacking layers), how they change in dark mode, and the rules for using and adding them.
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Block definitions Updated Markdown page
How a block type is defined in explayouts.ini (Name, Handler, ViewTypes, IsContainer, Placeholders, HasCollection, Category), the shipped blocks by category, and adding a view type or a new block to a design.
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Block view templates Updated Markdown page
Writing the template of a layouts block: the variables it receives ($block, $zone, $module_result), block values and collection items, dispatching by view type, drawing the children of a container, and overriding the…
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Breakpoints and container widths Updated Markdown page
The breakpoints and content widths admin4 uses (576, 1024, 1280 px, --a4-content-max) as a worked example, how to choose your own for a public design, container queries, and keeping breakpoints in one place.
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Caching for designers Updated Markdown page
The caches a designer's templates live in (view cache, cache-blocks, compiled templates, packed assets, Velocity's response cache), what each keeps, what clears it, and the template rules that keep cached pages correct…
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Checklist: accessibility Updated Markdown page
An accessibility checklist for a design: page structure, keyboard, focus, contrast, images, forms, motion, zoom and reflow, dark mode and forced colors, and the automated check with zero serious issues.
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Checklist: code review for templates Updated Markdown page
What a reviewer checks in a template or stylesheet change: escaping, translations, fetches and caching, overrides, inline code, tokens and dark values, logical properties, accessibility, and the light and dark…
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Checklist: CSP Updated Markdown page
A Content Security Policy checklist for a design: no inline scripts, handlers, javascript links or inline styles, configuration as JSON data, pre-paint code in files, nonces never in cached output, third-party origins…
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Checklist: dark mode Updated Markdown page
A dark mode checklist: every color from tokens with a dark value, contrast measured in both themes, no white boxes, form controls dark, logos and images, no flash on load, choice remembered, print light.
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Checklist: performance Updated Markdown page
A performance checklist for a design: requests and bundles, render blocking, fonts, images, layout shift, third parties, template fetches, view cache and cache-blocks, measured signed out with cold and warm caches.
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Checklist: right to left Updated Markdown page
A right-to-left checklist for a design: dir on html, logical properties, mirror rules, which icons flip, content in the other direction, isolated names, scripts that measure, fonts, and unchanged left-to-right pages.
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Checklist: theme launch Updated Markdown page
Everything to check before a new or changed design goes live: structure, settings, templates, assets, accessibility, dark mode, right to left, security policy, performance, caches and the switch-over itself.
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Choosing a starting theme Updated Markdown page
Whether to start a new design from scratch, from the simple, media or starter theme, or from ezwebin, with the trade-offs of each and a short decision table.
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Color contrast Updated Markdown page
Contrast targets for text, large text, icons and focus rings, how admin4's tokens document their ratios, checking contrast in light and dark mode, and common traps (placeholder text, text on images, hover states, zebra…
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CSP-safe design Updated Markdown page
Designing so a strict Content Security Policy can be enforced: what the policy allows by default, the three rules (no inline script, no inline style, no third-party origins), the patterns that replace inline code, the…
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Dark mode overview Updated Markdown page
How dark mode works in Exponential designs: color tokens with a light and a dark value, a theme attribute on html set before the first paint, light, dark and system choices, and what admin4 does as the reference…
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Dark mode with prefers-color-scheme Updated Markdown page
The simplest dark mode for a public design: dark token values in a prefers-color-scheme media query, combined with an explicit light or dark choice when a switch is added, plus images, color-scheme and testing.